leaving Turkey to the amazing Syria !

Antakya Travel Blog

I started a 6 months journey in march 2003, although it was never really the intention... I`d just lost my job so I thought I would take a trip to Budapest to check out my future university....and then after doing that I figured that since I don`t really have anything to go back to I might as well visit the neighbouring country.....and that spirit kept meg going through 20 countries over 6 months :)

Antakia was the last city I visited in turkey. Only reason to visit that place is if you need to find a bus out of that place because it was just another boring dead-end turkish mid-size city... I also had a slightly uncomfortable experience when I went to a " restaurant" to have a burger meal and 3 local ladies sat down on my table. Very unusual situation to be in as they very praising my looks into the skies.

The "bus" hub in Aleppo

" you have such beautiful blue eyes, and we LOVE your blonde hair . All the men around here have boring brown eyes and black hair. "I felt a bit awkward. Then they practically extorted me to get my phone number. I did not dear give them the right one, as I was'nt really looking for a turkish bride (allthough they were really pretty..).

I was nervous on the bus towards the Syrian border...the bus was in a pityful state...and I felt a bit alone as the only non-syrian,non-arabic person.I did`nt know anything about Syria before going there, I just figured that it was a very bad move as there would probably be lots of criminals shooting their Kalashnikovs in the air whilst making strange yodelling sounds. This was at the time where the US- Irqaqi war was just weeks old, the invasion was still ongoing.

On the border there were hundreds of people,and buses, queing everywhere , and I was the only foreigner there. I had made sure that my visa was good before going (a very cool visa with lots of stamps with arabic writing that looks very exotic in my otherwise boring passport)

I got a lot of attention, which was uncomfortable as I was`nt very used to it...and I think also that all the people in the bus hated me as the bus had to wait 30 minutes while I was questioned by the customs...(all the other people went through customs in 2 minutes)

Getting of the bus in Aleppo I felt like a big blazing neon sign " I`m a rich and stupid white person ,please try to sell me some crappy accomodation in your house" .